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The chair of tax law at the University of Leeds has lambasted the CEO of a tax advisory business for an "inappropriate" comment about ring girls.

Jimmy Sexton, President of tax advisory firm Esquire Group, tweeted a pumped post-gym selfie along with the following rumination on Twitter:

His musing didn't go down well with Rita de la Feria, tax law professor at the University of Leeds, who responded:

De la Feria told RollOnFriday that she found Sexton's comment "inappropriate" even if it was said "as a joke". She added that "a professional conference - tax or otherwise - should be an inclusive environment, where experts, regardless of their gender, can share their views and expertise, and not one where women appear as cheerleaders for men experts".

She also said that Sexton's response "namely that appropriateness is subjective" was also "not only unsatisfactory, but also misguided" and that it "only added strength to that initial point".

When RollOnFriday asked Sexton about the tweet, he responded "who said I joking (sic) about bringing ring girls to a tax conference—you haven’t seen my ring girls! People need to stop being so sensitive. Not everything has to be stogy (sic) and boring in the tax world". He then provided a fantastically Trumpesque-lengthy response which can be read in full here.

Social media spats in the legal world are not uncommon, and a Bengal Tiger was unleashed on LinkedIn earlier this month.

Comments

This is why Trump won. Someone makes an innocent jokey comment and an SJW takes umbrage. The average American - indeed the very average American - would not consider themselves racist or sexist for making a similar comment, and voted against those who insisted they were.

"In that case Scep Tick, whether or not they are racist and/or sexist, they are obviously incredibly stupid."
Yes, they probably are stupid, but Trump's still president. Do you want a better world, or you want to go around calling folk sexist and stupid?

"Do you want a better world, or you want to go around calling folk sexist and stupid?" Both. I want a better world in which racist, sexist or stupid people can't claim protection from being called sexist racist or stupid, merely because they are sexist, racist or stupid.